A prudent person foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and suffer -- Proverbs 22:3

Friday, March 14, 2014

Why Not A Battle Rifle?

First, an AR or an AK is not a battle rifle, nor are the
civilians versions “assault weapons”--
but you knew that.When someone who purports to be an expert
shows a picture of an AR and says to the average prepper or student of prudence
that a “battle rifle” is the most important firearm in the survivalist/prepper
arsenal, I shake my head.

I know a lot of good ol’ redneck boys and girls who own and
regularly shoot AR-type rifles.They are
excellent firearms in many situations, including predator hunting.They are great platforms for
customization.You can put good optics
and accessories on them.There are a
plethora of after-market products for personalization.They are accurate, tough, reliable
weapons.Buy one.

I don’t have one, and I don’t have any plans to buy one, but
that’s a personal thing.I appreciate
black rifles; I like them; I just don’t have any urge to have one myself.

My personal opinion – that’s all it is – as a complete
non-expert is that the one firearm I would encourage every person to have is a
centerfire handgun.The reason for a
solid, dependable handgun being high on my list is that I can have it with me a
lot of places a lot of the time.I don’t
care if it’s an autoloader or a single-action revolver, .45, .44, .40, .357,
.38, 9mm, .380 or something more exotic, it’s not going to make that much
difference.The difference will be if,
in a threatening situation, a person has both the will and the means to protect
life and property.

My situation may not be typical, but I’m outside around my
property, away from the house quite a bit, especially in the warmer months when
we are gardening or mowing or working on this, that, or the other.I can usually carry a handgun of some kind
without it interfering with my movements or the work I’m doing.Home invasions and hot burglaries are
generally confined to more urban settings and are most often drug-related.For now.That’s slowly changing and some two-legged predators are seeing rural
residents, especially the older ones who might have some valuables on hand, as being
more attractive targets.The last time
the county deputies came out this way in a hurry, I think it was at least
forty-five minutes before they arrived.

The situation is not going to get better as the economy continues
to flounder and budget constraints cause jurisdictions to cut back on personnel
and hours.Firearms themselves, electronics,
farm equipment, supplies and materials, tools, or rumors of precious metals
might draw in the jackals.It may get to
the point where food and fuel become attractors.Cattle rustling has become a major crime
around here.A gang that will steal
cattle might resort to violence if someone inadvertently interrupted them.

I’m not really expecting to be involved in the Battle of
Helm’s Deep.My grandfather was born in
1863.As a young man, he worked for a
gentleman who had been a victim of bushwhackers during the Civil War.The old man had been in bed when the raiders
showed up, and he and his wife had offered no resistance to their
plundering.When, though, one of the thieves
picked up the man’s trousers which were hanging on the bed frame, the victim protested,
“Now, boys, please leave me my britches.”

In response, one of the bushwhackers shot him, the ball
passing through his throat.He fell and
flopped like a beheaded chicken while the bushwhacked departed, presumably triumphant,
having secured the pants.His wife
fetched the local doctor who found that the bullet has passed completely
through the man’s neck without doing fatal damage.The wound was cleaned and bandaged and the
old man lived for many more years with naught but a scar.According to the doctor’s assessment, had the
ball gone to either side of its path “the thickness of a piece of brown paper”,
the man would have died.

That’s the kind of thing that Ferfal reported happening in
Argentina and the kind of thing that happened in Bosnia during the upheaval
there in the ‘90s.It’s the kind of
thing that is most likely to happen anywhere that the rule of law begins to
lose ground to tribalism, criminality, and violence.Most of us are not going to want to join up
with a gang for protection, even if the gang calls itself a militia.We will try to get through challenging times
without resorting to tribalism and living under garrison conditions.

Personal arms that can be carried on one’s person are the
best defense in such a situation.Nobody
really wants to get shot, and predators look for prey not opponents.

So, as I said, get a “battle rifle” or whatever you choose
to call it, get a shotgun, get a sniper rifle, and whatever else you like while
the getting is good, but have a handgun that you can carry and keep close for
when you need it most.

John, you make a good point. My oldest son and I caught a burgler in our garage at 2:00am one morning. It was pitch dark and he was dressed in black, head to foot.

I had grabbed a cricket bat as I headed down stairs after waking my son. The adrenalin is pumping and you are expecting the worst.

In any event, the criminal made a run for it when we opened the garage door, and my son who was 19 at the time, and playing senior rugby (I know, that makes two strange sports I have mentioned) tackled him on our shingle driveway.

I was on him in a flash. ;-)

I had the cricket bat pressed over his throat in order to restrain him and I was very consious of conflicting emotions. Part of me wanted to teach him a lesson he wouldn't forget, and another part of me kept thinking "this is a human being just like me".

Fortunately for him, the second thought prevailed and I settled for giving him a lecture. After waiting 15 minutes for the police to arrive we delivered him into their hands and a subsequent prison sentance.

We don't own firearms and the average 'joe' is not allowed to own handguns here in NZ. Having fired a 9mm Glock (standard Police issue) I'm hoping I'm never in a hostage situation where the cop with the Glock is looking to take out the hostage taker. I'd be just as likely to wind up dead!

I do understand gun ownership however, and appreciate why you would own one (or two or three).

There's nothing wrong with blunt instruments. We do not understand cricket, but those flat bats look like they would work about like an axe handle. Not a bad choice at all.

Restraint is always advisable because most people are not psychopaths. As I've said before, I used to work around convicted felons, as opposed to the unconvicted ones in Congress. Out of 1100 or so that I dealt with on a more or less daily basis, there might have been 50 that were "wicked beyond redemption". The rest were just guys who had done something stupid or had problems of one sort or another. Most of them, if you treated them reasonably, they responded reasonably.

One more thing on this -- I may have misstated my original stimulus for what I've said. I said that an expert touted a military-style rifle, like an AR, as the most important weapon for a prepper's arsenal. Actually, what he said was, that if a person can only have one firearm, it should be one of these semi-auto, military-looking, mil-spec rifles or carbines.

My contention is that if you can only have one, the most practical single weapon (in the States) -- for people in the suburbs, commuters, farmers, ranchers, and other people in rural areas who do things other than ride around and play soldier -- is a handgun.

If they limit me to only one firearm forever, it won't be an AR or a handgun, it will be my good old 870 12-gauge. I'll get one of Joerg's slingshots and a good air rifle as back ups.

I have AR-15 for target shooting and for hunting. I have installed a optical, bullet drop compensator laser rangefinder which is really useful in calculating the distance of my target. I use .223 Remington round for hunting.

Quotables

The true Christian should not resign himself to the inevitable: he should trust in the impertinence of a repeated prayer. -- Don Colacho

Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort. -- Robert A. Heinlein

When law and morality are in contradiction, the citizen finds himself in the cruel dilemma of either losing his moral sense or of losing respect for the law -- Bastiat

The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state-controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy.

If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military. The hired servants of our rulers.

Only the government -- and a few outlaws.

I intend to be among the outlaws.--Edward Abbey from “The Right to Arms”

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